sugar

Cait5 · Post by **Cait5** » Sun Mar 22, 2015 1:14 pm

Hi - I had a question for long term no s'ers, do cravings for sugar go away? If they do how long does it take? Also if you overate sugar on the weekends in the beginning, did that really lose its appeal and naturally stop at some point?
Thanks!

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Mon Mar 23, 2015 4:54 pm

Desire for sugar still comes and goes (after five years) depending on things in my life that seem to be unrelated to food, IMHO. I don't know that I'd call it craving. What I'm usually actually craving is something else, usually something I can't have, like an easier time at work that is masked by wanting a pleasant shot of sweet. I might have a decaf mocha, or just live with it. I realize it's not really the food I want or that it won't help to have it.

The desire never completely went away, but I got tired of overeating on S days eventually (I let it go on for two years! Others made changes earlier than I did with decent success), and instituted two mods that rounded things out until I hit age 60. I'm still adjusting to that. It's possible if I went very low carb, things would change for me, but statistically, most low carbers return to moderate carb intake, so I don't push it.

Results will differ.

Cait5 · Post by **Cait5** » Sun Mar 29, 2015 8:47 am

Thanks Oolala.

Echos · Post by **Echos** » Fri May 29, 2015 10:29 am

Huge Disclaimer: I'm not actually a long-term No-S er (which is specifically what you asked for - sorry), but I think I have some insight as a long term dieter.

When I first went full Paleo and didn't have any sugar for about a month, my sugar cravings started going away. I kept my fat intake high, and I had lots of yummy protein and veggies to keep me satisfied. I think it changed my perspective, too. Suddenly things like carrots and bertha (I don't know the word in English, sorry. It's like kale?) seemed much sweeter.

After that, I decided to cut calories to under 800 a day and the cravings came back REALLY badly. I've never been a huge candy person, but suddenly I was craving all types of sweets. I'm not a scientist by any means, but I would guess that if you're suddenly and dramatically restricting calories then your body might rebel by craving energy-dense foods - namely sugar.

But that's complete speculation. When I have sugar cravings now I normally brush my teeth or have a cup of tea and try to up my fat intake.

gingerpie · Post by **gingerpie** » Fri May 29, 2015 12:33 pm

Hi I started out no-added-sugar-free long before I found no-s. It took a long time but eventually the cravings/desire for sweets abated enough that I now call them non-existent. The first (within the first 3/4 weeks) and most noticeable difference was that other naturally sweet foods suddenly became very sweet tasting and all foods dramatically improved in taste. I assume because I was actually tasting the food and not the sugar. It took a lot longer (year to year and a half) to lose what I refer to as sight cravings. When you see something, think it looks delicious and therefore must taste delicious. I finally got over that one by repeatedly being disappointed in how it tasted after I ate it although I still fall prey to it once in a while. Now after 4 years or so, I only have social cravings left. By that I mean, I'm only interested in sweets when there is a whole social event around it. For example, the family goes out for ice cream cones. Then I want an ice cream even though I don't really want ice cream.

Long winded response to say: all cravings get easier if you avoid or resist the triggers but it takes perseverance. And remember that all the cues to eat are always going to be there. They will never go away so it takes continued vigilance to avoid falling back into bad habits even after the cravings dissipate.

Good luck to you

mimi · Post by **mimi** » Fri May 29, 2015 1:42 pm

I've been NoSing for quite a while now, with many, many, starts and restarts. Then 3 years ago it finally stuck when I decided that I needed to get my eating and weight under control for my health. I decided that a healthy BMI would be my goal rather than a number on the scale, along with achieving sanity with food and eating .
For me, even after accomplishing the aforementioned goals, craving for sugar never went away. However, I did discover this: if I ate meals that contained foods that were highly satisfying for me, the craving for sugar was very low and not troublesome. When I ate things that were mediocre, I wanted "more" and my mind immediately felt that it should be dessert or sugar of some sort. I was also very selective about my esses on the weekends, opting for quality rather than quantity. Both of those strategies have worked well for me.
Like Oolala, I also made mocha coffee (except I like caffeine!!) or some other kind of nice coffee my dessert and this-is-the-end-of-the-meal signal.
Hope this has helped!
Mimi

osoniye · Post by **osoniye** » Fri May 29, 2015 2:06 pm

When I do normal vanilla NoS, the craving for sugar never fully goes away, and I often have a red day due to somebody showing up with a yummy piece of cake or candy and I just give in on an N day.
Right now, I'm 6 weeks into a 3 month break from sugar. I'd say my compliance is about 95-98% in that there is sugar added to so many things, plus occasional small slip-up. The physical craving went away somewhere around the 1 month mark, but there is still the psychological struggle when some thing "looks so good". I just remember it's not for me for these 3 months, and usually there is someone around who knows I'm trying this, and I don't want to look weak around them, so that helps me stay compliant. I feel soooo much better without the post sugar crashes! But I think it's right for me to take it 3 months at a time, so I don't start feeling like I'm being deprived for the rest of my life, and that I might as well give in.

Dale · Post by **Dale** » Fri May 29, 2015 6:04 pm

I know this is odd, but it's worse than it used to be. I was never much into sugar before dieting, and didn't crave it. Now it's a (partially) banned food, I crave it much more, but I don't know if that's because it's banned, or if it's simply that because I'm eating less I'm naturally craving quick calories. It's not sugar per se (I still wouldn't want to have sugar in coffee, etc.), but things like chocolate.

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Fri May 29, 2015 11:23 pm

Dale, have you considered making a mod to have a little chocolate more often, since it wasn't one of your excesses? Or do you think that would be waking the dragon after three years?

Dale · Post by **Dale** » Sat May 30, 2015 1:57 pm

I've experimented a little, but it seems that having a small amount of chocolate doesn't "quench" the craving, so maybe it's better to avoid it altogether. You just made me think though - I do eat an awful lot of cocoa powder! I don't count it as a sweet (because it isn't, I just buy pure cocoa powder), so I eat it all week. I use it a lot in savoury cooking, and have it for breakfast most mornings (mixed with porridge, plain yoghurt, etc.). Maybe I've created an "addiction" that hadn't existed before!

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Sat May 30, 2015 2:42 pm

I use cocoa powder, too! It on its own is definitely a good food, like an herb or spice would be. If anything that doesn't make you keep going back for more and more and has decent nutritive value, I think it's a good "addiction." But mine is probably a little "funny stuff," because I will often add stevia to the item. What savory dishes do you add it to?

Cait5 · Post by **Cait5** » Sat May 30, 2015 6:15 pm

Thank you all for your replies...I was really hoping that if I just stuck to this my desire to overeat sweets on the weekend would go away. I haven't stuck to No S long enough to truly find out so guess I'll just have to do that...I have stopped eating sugar once for over 3 months, and it was really amazing for the health benefits and the desire to eat sugar did go away after about 30 days but the problem was I had sweets for some reason (can't even remember why now) and after the small taste it seemed like it was impossible to stop craving again and I was back on the roller coaster of trying to stop eating any sugar, overeating sugar...

Anyway thanks again for all the feedback!

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Sat May 30, 2015 7:14 pm

Cait5, it is absolutely typical to crave sugar or any other "highly palatable" food after restricting it. If a person does give in to the craving and gorges on the substance, it will make the brain pattern for it even stronger. Sometimes just knowing that will give a person the motivation to resist overdoing it.

I know it sounds hard, but unless you decide you will just swear off sweets forever, your best bet is to force yourself to have sweets in moderate amounts periodically- maybe not every weekend, or possibly so- and accept that you have to get through withdrawal, meaning you still will want more, but won't have it. It may take many trials, just like for some people, it takes many trials to stick to no snacks, etc. Of course, you don't get to practice as often. Eventually, you'll prefer the smaller amount. But if you are wishing every day not to feel the urge, you will make the process tortuous. It's wishing you didn't feel the urge that hurts, even more than the urge. Mindfulness proponents to treat addiction say, hard though it sounds, being willing to "be with" the urge, even inviting it to stay forever (!) will reduce its power.

The time frame for this varies for people. Let me say that the woman who wrote Brain Over Binge said that she quit bingeing and purging (mostly be excessive exercise) cold turkey, but the urges, etc. to do it went on at various strength for about nine months. And that was with NO slips. I think she didn't give up any food type. Intermittent reinforcement would likely make the pattern last even longer, but that can be offset by establishing a new pattern of moderation. She also wasn't trying to lose weight.

I humbly suggest you try to take the pressure off yourself for a few weeks and then decide if you want to opt for a life with occasional sweets, in which case it might take longer to get good at it than you'd like, or just accept that life without sweets ever is a small price to pay for peace. If the latter doesn't sound like a fair price at that point, you'll have your answer.

Dale · Post by **Dale** » Sat May 30, 2015 8:29 pm

oolala53 wrote:I use cocoa powder, too! It on its own is definitely a good food, like an herb or spice would be. If anything that doesn't make you keep going back for more and more and has decent nutritive value, I think it's a good "addiction." But mine is probably a little "funny stuff," because I will often add stevia to the item. What savory dishes do you add it to?

Particularly stew-type dishes when I'm cooking meat and vegetables together in one pot, but all sorts of things, as a coating with spices, even bolognese sauce (which I'm sure makes it not bolognese sauce!).

I suppose you are right - it's one of those foods where you get a lot of taste for the amount of calories (in my opinion). I just wondered if eating so much cocoa had created my chocolate cravings. Maybe it's worth it anyway

.

Cait5 · Post by **Cait5** » Sat May 30, 2015 11:59 pm

Thanks Oolala53, I absolutely love this:

It's wishing you didn't feel the urge that hurts, even more than the urge. Mindfulness proponents to treat addiction say, hard though it sounds, being willing to "be with" the urge, even inviting it to stay forever (!) will reduce its power.

And yes I agree, It makes much more sense to decide after at least a few weeks.

roseha · Post by **roseha** » Tue Jul 07, 2015 2:07 am

Hi Cait5

I've been coming back to this board after quite some time away - back around 2006 I lost maybe 25 or so pounds on NoS and have been maintaining well, if not perfectly - I am about 142 or 143 pounds and about 5 foot 5 inches which I think is not too bad.

However I've been concerned because I've started to gain a little in the last month and while there were various reasons (I was away from home a lot and you tend to eat more and get careless), I think that sugar concerns me the most. I never have it in my coffee (just milk) and never have sugary drinks, but sometimes lately I've eaten granola for lunch (as a substitute for big meals) and that stuff is just *loaded* with sugar. Long story short, I feel that leaving out the sugar really helps in NoS I personally think. The most sugar I generally have on a good day is in a Siggi's yogurt (the sugar is lower than usual). Personally I do think cutting it is important (though I don't like the sugar substitutes myself). Maybe you can find a food you like and substitute that for something sugary? Just a suggestion, I have cravings too but more often for mixed nuts after dinner, etc. Good luck!

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Tue Jul 07, 2015 1:48 pm

You may not like this, but....
I've been here for a long time (almost 9 years). In the beginning I had numerous sweets each weekend -- some homemade and some good quality store bought. Over time I mostly stopped buying sweet treats and everything I ate was homemade. But there was definitely a treat every weekend. If I went out to dinner I'd have dessert.

In the last couple of years I've stopped having most desserts when I go out to eat. They just seem to be "too much." I like chocolate, but I don't like "death by chocolate" type desserts. Chocolate/chocolate chip cakes, brownies, cookies -- not my thing.

I was making a dessert for the holiday weekend and realized that I hadn't made a sweet treat in at least 6 weeks. This has happened more than once in the last year or so.

I read a lot of cooking blogs. If asked, I'd say I have a sweet tooth. But well over 90% of the time I skip right over recipes for sweets.

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 8:25 am

Hi wosnes, something to look forward to!

I'm in the homemade-is-taking-over phase and am nearly exactly 3 years in (so not at the magical 5 years yet). I hope what you described will happen to me too!

Over43 · Post by **Over43** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 9:40 am

No...

RAWCOOKIE · Post by **RAWCOOKIE** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 12:17 pm

gingerpie wrote: all cravings get easier if you avoid or resist the triggers but it takes perseverance. And remember that all the cues to eat are always going to be there. They will never go away so it takes continued vigilance to avoid falling back into bad habits even after the cravings dissipate.

That's a great statement Gingerpie - and very true - that's why the systems are important!
Excellent, helpful discussion.

I tend to look for something to 'finish' a meal - and am allowing myself fruit + maybe a bit of plain yoghurt, but a mug of (decaff) coffee helps me with the 'meal over' signal!

Skelton · Post by **Skelton** » Fri Jul 10, 2015 9:50 am

I have nothing useful to contribute, but just wanted to say thank you to all who have contributed on this thread. It's been a very helpful read.
When I read threads like this one, I wish this board had a way to save favourite threads and posts, but unless I'm missing something it doesn't. I've bookmarked to Firefox instead.